Directors Who Never Made a Bad Movie

Every single film scored 70% or higher with audiences. These directors have a perfect track record by audience approval.

Each director below with every qualifying film and its score. At the end, ten names from an older list, checked again.

The rules: At least 5 movies in the database, each with 500+ audience votes, and every single one scored 70% or above. One dud and you're off the list.

Alfred Hitchcock

83.0% avg 23 films

Rear Window 91% Notorious 88% The Lady Vanishes 88% Dial M for Murder 87% Rebecca 87% Strangers on a Train 87% Psycho 85% Spellbound 85% Shadow of a Doubt 84% The 39 Steps 84% Suspicion 84% Vertigo 83% North by Northwest 83% Frenzy 83% The Trouble with Harry 83% Saboteur 83% The Wrong Man 82% The Birds 80% Rope 80% Torn Curtain 79% To Catch a Thief 77% The Man Who Knew Too Much 76% Marnie 70%

Christopher Nolan

83.1% avg 13 films

Interstellar 92% The Dark Knight 92% Memento 90% Inception 87% Insomnia 87% Oppenheimer 83% The Dark Knight Rises 82% Batman Begins 82% Dunkirk 82% The Prestige 79% The Odyssey 78% Following 74% Tenet 72%

Peter Jackson

81.0% avg 13 films

Heavenly Creatures 88% Braindead 87% The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 86% The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 85% The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 85% The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey 83% The Lovely Bones 80% They Shall Not Grow Old 80% Bad Taste 79% The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies 77% King Kong 77% The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug 76% The Frighteners 70%

Stanley Kubrick

80.2% avg 13 films

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 92% The Shining 88% A Clockwork Orange 87% Full Metal Jacket 87% 2001: A Space Odyssey 84% Killer's Kiss 82% Paths of Glory 79% Eyes Wide Shut 78% Barry Lyndon 78% Spartacus 75% Lolita 72% The Killing 70% Fear and Desire 70%

Hayao Miyazaki

91.6% avg 12 films

Spirited Away 95% Howl's Moving Castle 95% Princess Mononoke 94% My Neighbor Totoro 94% Kiki's Delivery Service 93% Castle in the Sky 92% Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 92% Ponyo 90% Porco Rosso 89% The Wind Rises 89% The Boy and the Heron 88% The Castle of Cagliostro 88%

Akira Kurosawa

89.2% avg 12 films

Seven Samurai 93% Sanjuro 93% Dersu Uzala 92% Yojimbo 91% High and Low 91% Ikiru 90% The Hidden Fortress 90% Throne of Blood 89% Dreams 89% Rashomon 88% Kagemusha 85% Ran 80%

Quentin Tarantino

86.6% avg 10 films

Pulp Fiction 91% Django Unchained 91% Reservoir Dogs 91% Kill Bill: Vol. 2 91% Kill Bill: Vol. 1 90% Inglourious Basterds 88% Jackie Brown 86% The Hateful Eight 83% Death Proof 81% Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood 74%

Billy Wilder

83.9% avg 10 films

Some Like It Hot 90% Double Indemnity 89% Stalag 17 87% The Apartment 86% Witness for the Prosecution 86% Sabrina 84% Ace in the Hole 82% The Lost Weekend 81% Sunset Boulevard 80% The Seven Year Itch 74%

David Lynch

82.3% avg 10 films

The Straight Story 89% Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 88% The Elephant Man 86% Lost Highway 85% Eraserhead 84% Mulholland Drive 83% Inland Empire 82% Dune 76% Blue Velvet 75% Wild at Heart 75%

James Cameron

90.0% avg 9 films

Terminator 2: Judgment Day 95% Titanic 93% The Terminator 91% True Lies 91% Aliens 90% The Abyss 90% Avatar: Fire and Ash 88% Avatar: The Way of Water 87% Avatar 85%

Ingmar Bergman

87.2% avg 9 films

The Seventh Seal 90% Wild Strawberries 88% Autumn Sonata 88% The Virgin Spring 88% Through a Glass Darkly 88% Persona 87% Cries and Whispers 87% Hour of the Wolf 86% Fanny and Alexander 83%

Jon Favreau

80.4% avg 9 films

Iron Man 86% Iron Man 2 86% Chef 85% The Jungle Book 83% Elf 83% The Lion King 82% The Mandalorian and Grogu 75% Cowboys & Aliens 73% Zathura: A Space Adventure 71%

Raja Gosnell

75.8% avg 9 films

Big Momma's House 80% Scooby-Doo 79% Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed 79% The Smurfs 75% Home Alone 3 75% Beverly Hills Chihuahua 75% Yours, Mine & Ours 75% The Smurfs 2 72% Never Been Kissed 72%

Wong Kar-Wai

88.0% avg 8 films

Chungking Express 94% Fallen Angels 94% In the Mood for Love 91% Happy Together 91% Days of Being Wild 88% 2046 86% The Grandmaster 82% My Blueberry Nights 78%

Alan Parker

82.2% avg 8 films

Pink Floyd: The Wall 93% Mississippi Burning 90% The Commitments 86% Angel Heart 85% The Life of David Gale 81% Birdy 79% Midnight Express 72% Evita 72%

Adam McKay

80.0% avg 8 films

The Big Short 86% Step Brothers 84% Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby 81% Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy 80% Don't Look Up 79% Vice 77% Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues 77% The Other Guys 76%

John Huston

77.0% avg 8 films

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 83% Escape to Victory 81% Key Largo 80% The Maltese Falcon 76% The Asphalt Jungle 76% The Man Who Would Be King 75% The African Queen 74% Annie 71%

Jean Girault

91.1% avg 7 films

The Gendarme and the Creatures from Outer Space 93% The Gendarme Gets Married 93% The Gendarme in New York 93% Le Gendarme de Saint-Tropez 92% The Gendarme and the Gendarmettes 90% The Gendarme Takes Off 90% The Cabbage Soup 87%

Charlie Chaplin

89.9% avg 7 films

The Great Dictator 92% City Lights 92% Modern Times 90% The Kid 90% The Gold Rush 90% The Circus 88% Limelight 87%

Andrei Tarkovsky

88.3% avg 7 films

Ivan's Childhood 92% Andrei Rublev 90% Nostalgia 89% Stalker 87% Solaris 87% Mirror 87% The Sacrifice 86%

Makoto Shinkai

87.9% avg 7 films

Your Name. 95% Suzume 94% Weathering with You 92% The Garden of Words 89% 5 Centimeters per Second 86% The Place Promised in Our Early Days 81% Children Who Chase Lost Voices 78%

Jackie Chan

87.1% avg 7 films

Who Am I? 93% Operation Condor 92% Police Story 2 91% Police Story 89% Armour of God 87% Project A 86% Armour of God 3: Chinese Zodiac 72%

Clyde Geronimi

86.3% avg 7 films

Alice in Wonderland 89% One Hundred and One Dalmatians 88% Lady and the Tramp 88% Sleeping Beauty 86% The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 86% Cinderella 85% Peter Pan 82%

John Musker

86.3% avg 7 films

The Great Mouse Detective 93% Treasure Planet 92% Aladdin 86% The Princess and the Frog 85% Moana 84% Hercules 84% The Little Mermaid 80%

Dario Argento

86.1% avg 7 films

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage 90% Suspiria 87% Deep Red 87% Inferno 87% Opera 87% Phenomena 85% Tenebre 80%

Mel Brooks

86.0% avg 7 films

Young Frankenstein 93% Spaceballs 89% Robin Hood: Men in Tights 88% Dracula: Dead and Loving It 88% Blazing Saddles 83% The Producers 83% History of the World: Part I 78%

Wolfgang Reitherman

85.4% avg 7 films

Robin Hood 93% The Aristocats 90% One Hundred and One Dalmatians 88% The Rescuers 85% The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 85% The Jungle Book 82% The Sword in the Stone 75%

Bong Joon Ho

84.7% avg 7 films

Memories of Murder 94% Parasite 89% Mother 88% Okja 84% Mickey 17 80% Snowpiercer 79% The Host 79%

John Hughes

82.1% avg 7 films

The Breakfast Club 90% Ferris Bueller's Day Off 89% Weird Science 83% Sixteen Candles 81% Uncle Buck 81% Planes, Trains and Automobiles 80% Curly Sue 71%

Edgar Wright

81.6% avg 7 films

Shaun of the Dead 92% Scott Pilgrim vs. the World 85% Hot Fuzz 85% Baby Driver 84% The World's End 81% Last Night in Soho 74% The Running Man 70%

Jean-Jacques Annaud

81.4% avg 7 films

Seven Years in Tibet 90% The Name of the Rose 87% Two Brothers 85% Quest for Fire 83% Enemy at the Gates 79% The Bear 76% The Lover 70%

Tom Shadyac

80.9% avg 7 films

Bruce Almighty 88% Dragonfly 88% Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 86% Liar Liar 84% Patch Adams 79% The Nutty Professor 71% Evan Almighty 70%

Blake Edwards

78.7% avg 7 films

Breakfast at Tiffany's 85% The Party 85% A Shot in the Dark 84% The Return of the Pink Panther 79% The Pink Panther Strikes Again 75% Blind Date 73% The Pink Panther 70%

Sylvester Stallone

86.5% avg 6 films

Rocky IV 91% Rocky II 90% Rocky III 87% The Expendables 85% Rambo 84% Rocky Balboa 82%

Sergio Leone

86.0% avg 6 films

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 91% Once Upon a Time in America 88% A Fistful of Dollars 86% Duck, You Sucker 86% For a Few Dollars More 83% Once Upon a Time in the West 82%

Hirokazu Kore-eda

85.8% avg 6 films

Monster 91% Nobody Knows 88% Broker 86% Shoplifters 84% Like Father, Like Son 83% Our Little Sister 83%

Ron Clements

85.2% avg 6 films

Treasure Planet 92% Aladdin 86% The Princess and the Frog 85% Moana 84% Hercules 84% The Little Mermaid 80%

Federico Fellini

84.7% avg 6 films

Nights of Cabiria 91% 8½ 86% I Vitelloni 86% Amarcord 84% La Strada 84% La Dolce Vita 77%

Mamoru Hosoda

84.5% avg 6 films

Wolf Children 94% The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 91% The Boy and the Beast 82% Summer Wars 82% Mirai 80% Belle 78%

George Lucas

84.3% avg 6 films

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith 92% Star Wars 89% Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones 87% Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace 85% American Graffiti 78% THX 1138 75%

Jean-Luc Godard

83.8% avg 6 films

Vivre Sa Vie 91% Band of Outsiders 88% Alphaville 85% Pierrot le Fou 83% Breathless 80% Contempt 76%

Steve Miner

82.8% avg 6 films

Halloween H20: 20 Years Later 88% Friday the 13th Part III 86% House 86% Friday the 13th Part 2 85% Forever Young 80% Lake Placid 72%

Mike Newell

82.2% avg 6 films

The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society 88% Donnie Brasco 86% Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire 85% Mona Lisa Smile 81% Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time 78% Four Weddings and a Funeral 75%

Michelangelo Antonioni

81.3% avg 6 films

La Notte 84% The Passenger 84% L'Avventura 82% L'Eclisse 82% Red Desert 79% Blow-Up 77%

Alejandro González Iñárritu

81.2% avg 6 films

The Revenant 84% Amores Perros 84% 21 Grams 83% Biutiful 82% Babel 79% Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) 75%

Stephen Sommers

79.3% avg 6 films

The Mummy 88% Van Helsing 87% The Mummy Returns 83% Deep Rising 78% G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra 70% Odd Thomas 70%

Chris Renaud

78.3% avg 6 films

Despicable Me 2 84% Despicable Me 79% The Lorax 79% Despicable Me 4 78% The Secret Life of Pets 75% The Secret Life of Pets 2 75%

Robert Wise

78.2% avg 6 films

The Sound of Music 88% West Side Story 81% Star Trek: The Motion Picture 79% The Haunting 76% The Andromeda Strain 73% The Day the Earth Stood Still 72%

William Lau

77.5% avg 6 films

Barbie and the Three Musketeers 84% Barbie as The Princess & the Pauper 81% Barbie Fairytopia: Mermaidia 77% Barbie in 'A Christmas Carol' 76% Barbie: A Fairy Secret 74% Barbie: A Fashion Fairytale 73%

Robert Altman

76.0% avg 6 films

Popeye 83% Short Cuts 80% Gosford Park 74% The Long Goodbye 74% M*A*S*H 73% The Player 72%

Giuseppe Tornatore

89.4% avg 5 films

The Legend of 1900 94% Cinema Paradiso 93% The Best Offer 88% Malena 86% Baaria 86%

Enzo Barboni

89.0% avg 5 films

Crime Busters 91% Go for It 90% They Call Me Trinity 89% Double Trouble 88% Trinity Is Still My Name 87%

Takeshi Kitano

88.0% avg 5 films

Zatoichi 90% Kikujiro 90% Fireworks 88% Sonatine 87% Brother 85%

John Lasseter

85.6% avg 5 films

Toy Story 2 92% Cars 87% Toy Story 85% Cars 2 84% A Bug's Life 80%

John Glen

85.2% avg 5 films

For Your Eyes Only 88% Licence to Kill 86% The Living Daylights 85% A View to a Kill 84% Octopussy 83%

Gennaro Nunziante

84.6% avg 5 films

Sun In Buckets 88% Where Am I Going? 85% Buen Camino 85% What a Beautiful Day 83% Cado dalle nubi 82%

Dean DeBlois

84.2% avg 5 films

How to Train Your Dragon 87% How to Train Your Dragon 86% Lilo & Stitch 86% How to Train Your Dragon 2 84% How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World 78%

Aldo Baglio

84.0% avg 5 films

Three Men and a Leg 93% Ask Me If I'm Happy 91% The Legend of Al, John and Jack 89% The Rich, the Pauper and the Butler 77% That's Life 70%

Daisuke Nishio

84.0% avg 5 films

Dragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might 87% Dragon Ball Z: Dead Zone 87% Dragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest 86% Dragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler 84% Dragon Ball Z: Super Android 13! 76%

John G. Avildsen

84.0% avg 5 films

Rocky 89% The Karate Kid 88% Rocky V 82% The Karate Kid Part III 81% The Karate Kid Part II 80%

Byron Howard

83.6% avg 5 films

Zootopia 86% Tangled 86% Bolt 83% Zootopia 2 82% Encanto 81%

François Truffaut

83.6% avg 5 films

The 400 Blows 90% Day for Night 85% Fahrenheit 451 81% Jules and Jim 81% The Last Metro 81%

Luis Buñuel

83.6% avg 5 films

The Young and the Damned 90% The Exterminating Angel 88% The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie 84% Viridiana 83% Belle de Jour 73%

Orson Welles

83.6% avg 5 films

The Stranger 86% Touch of Evil 85% The Lady from Shanghai 83% The Trial 83% Citizen Kane 81%

Michael Moore

82.8% avg 5 films

Sicko 87% Where to Invade Next 87% Bowling for Columbine 85% Fahrenheit 9/11 82% Capitalism: A Love Story 73%

Andrew Stanton

82.4% avg 5 films

WALL·E 91% Finding Nemo 88% Toy Story 5 81% Finding Dory 80% John Carter 72%

Chris Sanders

82.4% avg 5 films

How to Train Your Dragon 86% Lilo & Stitch 86% The Wild Robot 86% The Call of the Wild 79% The Croods 75%

Carlos Saldanha

82.0% avg 5 films

Ice Age: The Meltdown 86% Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs 85% Rio 83% Rio 2 81% Ferdinand 75%

Nick Cassavetes

81.8% avg 5 films

John Q 88% Alpha Dog 85% The Notebook 84% The Other Woman 76% My Sister's Keeper 76%

Len Wiseman

81.2% avg 5 films

Underworld: Evolution 90% Underworld 88% Live Free or Die Hard 83% Ballerina 73% Total Recall 72%

Phil Lord

80.4% avg 5 films

Project Hail Mary 89% 22 Jump Street 79% The Lego Movie 79% 21 Jump Street 78% Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 77%

Alex Proyas

79.4% avg 5 films

The Crow 92% I, Robot 84% Dark City 79% Gods of Egypt 72% Knowing 70%

John Ford

79.2% avg 5 films

The Quiet Man 86% Stagecoach 84% The Searchers 77% The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance 77% The Grapes of Wrath 72%

Asghar Farhadi

79.0% avg 5 films

A Separation 89% About Elly 84% The Salesman 80% Everybody Knows 72% The Past 70%

Olivier Nakache

79.0% avg 5 films

The Intouchables 93% Samba 78% The Specials 78% C'est la vie! 73% Those Happy Days 73%

Éric Toledano

79.0% avg 5 films

The Intouchables 93% Samba 78% The Specials 78% C'est la vie! 73% Those Happy Days 73%

Jean-Marie Poiré

78.8% avg 5 films

The Visitors 85% The Visitors II: The Corridors of Time 85% Santa Claus Is a Stinker 84% The Visitors: Bastille Day 70% Just Visiting 70%

Baz Luhrmann

78.6% avg 5 films

The Great Gatsby 82% Romeo + Juliet 78% Moulin Rouge! 78% Australia 78% Elvis 77%

Neri Parenti

78.6% avg 5 films

Fantozzi Against the Wind 88% Natale sul Nilo 84% Natale a New York 75% Christmas in Miami 75% Natale in India 71%

Matt Reeves

78.0% avg 5 films

Let Me In 82% The Batman 81% War for the Planet of the Apes 78% Dawn of the Planet of the Apes 77% Cloverfield 72%

Tom McGrath

78.0% avg 5 films

Madagascar 87% Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa 82% Megamind 77% The Boss Baby 73% The Boss Baby: Family Business 71%

Jim Sheridan

77.8% avg 5 films

My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown 87% In the Name of the Father 81% Get Rich or Die Tryin' 75% Dream House 74% Brothers 72%

Christopher McQuarrie

77.6% avg 5 films

Mission: Impossible - The Final Reckoning 84% Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation 82% Mission: Impossible - Fallout 77% Jack Reacher 73% Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One 72%

Pierre Coffin

77.8% avg 5 films

Despicable Me 2 84% Despicable Me 79% Despicable Me 3 76% Minions 75% Minions & Monsters 75%

Kirk Jones

77.4% avg 5 films

I Swear 83% My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2 79% Nanny McPhee 78% Everybody's Fine 77% What to Expect When You're Expecting 70%

André Øvredal

77.0% avg 5 films

The Autopsy of Jane Doe 81% Troll Hunter 79% Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark 75% The Last Voyage of the Demeter 75% Passenger 75%

David Twohy

76.6% avg 5 films

A Perfect Getaway 82% Riddick 79% The Chronicles of Riddick 76% Pitch Black 75% The Arrival 71%

James Foley

76.2% avg 5 films

Glengarry Glen Ross 82% Fear 80% Fifty Shades Freed 75% Fifty Shades Darker 73% Perfect Stranger 71%

Rawson Marshall Thurber

76.0% avg 5 films

DodgeBall: A True Underdog Story 83% We're the Millers 82% Central Intelligence 72% Skyscraper 72% Red Notice 71%

Alan J. Pakula

75.0% avg 5 films

Sophie's Choice 78% Presumed Innocent 76% All the President's Men 75% The Pelican Brief 73% The Devil's Own 73%

Ten names from an older list, checked again (October 2026): a March post named ten directors who had never made a bad movie. By these rules today, five still pass, and all five are above: Christopher Nolan, Hayao Miyazaki, Bong Joon Ho, Quentin Tarantino and Edgar Wright. Five now have a film under the line: Denis Villeneuve (Enemy, 68%), David Fincher (Mank, 53%), the Coen brothers (Intolerable Cruelty, 58%, among others), Martin Scorsese (Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, 51%, among others) and Wes Anderson (Asteroid City, 63%).

Directors Who Never Made a Bad Movie

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